JOHANNESBURG – The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) have launched a blistering attack on President Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to place Police Minister Senzo Mchunu on special leave, calling it a legal farce and a shield for alleged corruption within the ANC-led government.
In a strongly worded statement released on Sunday, the party rejected both Mchunu’s continued access to full ministerial benefits and the appointment of Professor Firoz Cachalia as acting police minister, claiming it violated the Constitution.
The party argues that only an existing Cabinet member can temporarily assume ministerial duties under Section 98 of the Constitution. Cachalia, who currently chairs the National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council, is not a sitting minister. “The Constitution makes no room for the appointment of an acting Minister from outside Cabinet,” the EFF said.
The red berets accuse Mchunu of direct involvement in organised crime, citing allegations from KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. These include collusion with a SAPS tender beneficiary, Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala, who reportedly funded ANC political activities. The statement also claims Mchunu interfered in procurement processes and sought to suspend Mkhwanazi to obstruct investigations.
According to the EFF, Mchunu’s “special leave” is a “cowardly deflection” aimed at protecting the ANC’s internal networks rather than ensuring accountability. The party has called for Mchunu’s immediate dismissal, arrest, and prosecution, insisting that anything less “spits in the face of South Africans demanding justice.”
The party also renewed its call for Parliament to urgently establish an ad-hoc committee to investigate Mkhwanazi’s allegations, warning that the ANC has morphed from a liberation movement into what it described as “a mafia organisation.”
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